By Steve & Tamami Laser
Whether you’ve never heard of Japan’s Mitsuoka Motor Company or perhaps you’re a big fan of these neo-classics, there’s no denying that the company’s latest spin on its Viewt compact luxury car is an eye catcher.
The new Viewt Twilight Harris Tweed Edition is a special run of just 15 cars. Sporting Twilight Orange paint on the outside and a special badge adorning the oval grille, the interior is trimmed with authentic Harris Tweed fabric.
The material is applied to the seats, door panels, dashboard and roof trim, giving the cabin a warm and cozy feeling. This special edition celebrates the Harris Tweed Authority which has been hand weaving the fabric in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland from pure virgin wool for more than 100 years.
We got up-close-and-personal with the Viewt and other Mitsuoka vehicles at the Tokyo Motor Show several years ago.
Toyama City is where the cars are built or “remanufactured,” by hand at Mitsuoka’s facilities. The company builds Viewt and other neo-classics by modifying existing cars like the Japanese market Nissan March with unique front and rear styling and interior treatments.
Mitsuoka was founded 45 years ago as a Japanese “coachbuilder” that converts modern cars to neo-classics. View Twilight is powered by a 1.2-liter engine paired with a Continuously Variable Transmission driving the front wheels.
If you’re attracted to the Viewt Twilight yet saddened that only 15 will be built, you can take solace in the fact that the “regular” series Viewt is still in production. However, the vehicles are sold only in Japan, Korea, Macau, Thailand, Malaysia, Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia at the moment, according to the company’s website.
Product features and specifications apply to models for Japan and are subject to change without notice.
News source and photos courtesy of Mitsuoka Motor Co. Ltd.
Story (commentary) © 2014 CarNichiWa.com